The president of Turismo do Algarve says everything is “well on track” for the region to host the prologue and the start of the first stage of the Dakar Rally in 2027.
Speaking to journalists on Monday, 26 October, on the sidelines of the launch of the junior world sailing championship in Vilamoura, André Gomes said he expects the deal to be made official “in the coming days”.
“There have been countless contacts, from the Automóvel Clube de Portugal (ACP), with the region and with the municipalities. I won’t say it’s certain, but it’s well on track,” he claimed.
The Dakar Rally is an annual, two-week extreme off-road endurance race in which competitors speed across thousands of kilometers of harsh terrain, sand dunes, and rocky tracks
If it goes ahead, Gomes said, it will be “another great event” for the Algarve. “I would remind you that the region has hosted the Dakar before and can now do so again, in a fantastic month, January, right at the start of the year,” he added.
According to the head of the Algarve Tourism Board, the plan is for the Dakar team to set up base at the Estádio Algarve, the region’s largest stadium, located between Faro and Loulé. This would be the “nerve centre” of the rally’s visit. There would also be a prologue stage, the location of which is not yet known, followed by “the start of the first stage, in principle heading to Morocco”.
The organisers have already announced that the rally will concretely not take place in Saudi Arabia in 2027, only returning there in 2028. The decision follows “recent developments in the region” amid the conflict between Yemen’s Houthis and Saudi Arabia. The Dakar Rally has been staged in Saudi Arabia since 2020.
If the Algarve start is confirmed, it will mark the Dakar’s return to Portugal 19 years after the cancellation of the 2008 edition, which was due to run from Lisbon to the Senegalese capital.
The Portuguese capital hosted the starts of the 2006 and 2007 editions, with stops in the Algarve too. A third consecutive Lisbon start was called off on 4 January 2008, the day before the race was due to begin, because of security threats in Mauritania.
Created by Frenchman Thierry Sabine, the Dakar was first run in 1979, linking Paris with the Senegalese capital. Before it moved to South America, it followed a variety of routes, including Paris–Cape Town in 1992, Granada–Dakar in 1995 and Dakar–Cairo in 2000.
Source: Turismo do Algarve
Photo credit: edualmeiaphotography
